Practicing driving was torture for an experienced driver, especially with two weirdos sitting nearby.
Chen Zhi really had no interest in listening to the couple in the back seat flatter each other. Taking advantage of the break when they switched drivers, he said a quick word to the instructor and slipped away.
The midday sun was scorching. Chen Zhi felt an urgent need for something ice-cold to suppress the heat rising inside him.
Not far ahead was a residential neighborhood with a Lawson convenience store at the entrance.
Pushing open the glass door, a blast of cold air rushed at his face. It was so comfortable that Chen Zhi felt every pore on his body open up.
He headed straight for the freezer. Just as he was about to reach for his favorite old-fashioned popsicle, his gaze was drawn to a figure standing by the nearby shelves.
It was a girl in a white dress.
She was looking down, earnestly checking the production dates on the rice balls.
Long, straight black hair hung down to her waist, and the profile of her face was soft and gentle.
Compared to that Su Nuan back at the driving school, the girl before him was simply a fairy descended from heaven.
Chen Zhi paused for a moment, then a smile touched the corners of his lips.
What a coincidence.
He reached into the freezer, grabbed two popsicles, quietly walked up behind the girl, and gently pressed the freezing wrapper against her arm.
"Ah!"
Like a startled fawn, the girl shuddered and whipped her head around.
When she saw the buzz-cut boy behind her smiling wickedly, the panic in her eyes turned into pleasant surprise, and her tense shoulders relaxed.
"Chen... Chen Zhi?"
Li Zhiyi blinked, seemingly unable to believe she had run into him here.
"What? Don't recognize me just because I got a haircut?" Chen Zhi handed over one of the popsicles. "Here, my treat."
Li Zhiyi took the popsicle, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Th-thank you."
Chen Zhi tore open his own wrapper, took a bite, and mumbled, "No need to thank me, I haven't paid for them yet anyway."
Li Zhiyi was speechless.
She instinctively reached for her canvas bag. "Then I'll go pay..."
"Alright, I'm just messing with you." Chen Zhi grabbed her hand to stop her. Looking at her earnest expression, he couldn't help but laugh. "What are you doing here?"
Li Zhiyi pointed to the nearby neighborhood and said softly, "I'm tutoring over here. I just finished a session and wanted to buy something to eat. I have another class this afternoon."
"Let's go, don't just stand here." After paying, Chen Zhi pulled her outside. "Let's find a shady spot out there to sit for a bit."
There were a few tables and chairs under patio umbrellas outside the convenience store.
Chen Zhi munched on his popsicle, watching Li Zhiyi quietly taking tiny bites next to him.
He hadn't seen the girl in a while. She seemed to have lost a little weight, making her eyes look even larger. They were big and watery, and whenever she looked at him, it always made his heart melt.
"Is it tiring being a tutor?" Chen Zhi chewed on the popsicle stick. "Running back and forth in this sweltering heat."
Li Zhiyi shook her head. The loose hair on her forehead was slightly damp with sweat, clinging to her fair skin.
"It's not tiring," she said softly. "The child here is very obedient, and the parents pay well."
Chen Zhi sighed. "You're just too honest. Don't just save all the money you earn. Eat and drink what you should. Look at you, skinny as a bean sprout."
Li Zhiyi didn't say anything, just lowered her head and took a small bite of her popsicle.
After a moment, as if having made a huge decision, she put down her popsicle, hugged her canvas bag to her chest, and unzipped it.
Chen Zhi looked at her curiously. "What? You're going to treat me to a meal?"
Li Zhiyi didn't reply. Her hand fumbled around in her bag for a moment before pulling out a rectangular white box and gently pushing it in front of Chen Zhi.
Chen Zhi glanced at it.
An iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The popsicle almost fell out of Chen Zhi's mouth.
This thing cost at least ten thousand yuan.
To a rich woman like Pei Ningxue, this was just the cost of a meal.
But to Li Zhiyi...
Chen Zhi looked up, staring into Li Zhiyi's eyes, his tone instantly dropping. "Where did you get this?"
Startled by his fierce look, Li Zhiyi twisted her fingers together and whispered, "I... I bought it."
"Nonsense, of course I know you bought it," Chen Zhi said, pointing at the box. "I'm asking where you got the money. Have you been waking up at the crack of dawn and working late tutoring for the past month just to buy this?"
This ten thousand yuan was probably her entire summer's earnings, maybe even combined with her usual savings—all the money she had to her name.
Li Zhiyi lowered her head, her eyes slightly red.
"P-please don't be mad," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "I just wanted to get you a gift."
"Do I lack a phone?" Chen Zhi felt both angry and heartbroken. "I have hands and feet. Can't I buy what I want myself? Do I need you to save your food money to buy me this?"
He was genuinely a bit furious.
Li Zhiyi rarely spent much money normally, yet she had just bought him something so expensive.
"I know..." Li Zhiyi sniffled and finally looked up at him.
Her clear eyes were brimming with tears, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
"I know you have money, and I know you don't need this."
"But... growing up, you've helped me so much. You tutored me, and you even gave me my computer..."
At this point, she paused. Her voice dropped even lower, carrying a hint of humble pleading.
"I didn't know what you wanted. I saw... I saw that everyone else likes this, so I bought it."
"Please accept it, okay? Otherwise... otherwise I'll feel awful."
Looking at the girl in front of him who was on the verge of tears, Chen Zhi felt an overwhelming sour ache in his heart.
How silly could she be.
How could there be such a silly girl in this world? Emptying out all her savings just to give a gift, and then having to beg the person to accept it.
Chen Zhi, oh Chen Zhi, what makes you so worthy?
You're dating Lin Wanwan while flirting with Pei Ningxue, and yet here is this silly girl pouring her heart out for you.
Chen Zhi took a deep breath, reached out, and picked up the phone from the table.
"Alright, I accept it."
The tears in Li Zhiyi's eyes finally wavered, revealing a trace of joy. "R-really?"
"Really." Chen Zhi slipped the phone into his pocket, then stood up and walked over to her.
Reaching out, he gently tucked a sweat-dampened strand of hair behind her ear.
"But we need to set some ground rules." Chen Zhi looked into her eyes.
"No more spending money recklessly next time. If I ever find out you've been living frugally just to buy something again, I'll smash this phone just to hear it crack. You hear me?" Chen Zhi said, deliberately sounding stern.
Li Zhiyi nodded obediently. "I hear you."
The atmosphere between them was perfect.
Just as Chen Zhi was about to lecture her a bit more, an extremely untimely voice suddenly rang out from nearby.
"Oh, if it isn't Chen Hansheng?"
Chen Zhi furrowed his brows. He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
It was Zhao Jin, the guy who hovered around Su Nuan like a fly back at the driving school.
Talk about bad luck.
Chen Zhi turned around and, sure enough, saw Zhao Jin standing not far away, holding two bottles of water and looking over with a mocking expression.
"What's the matter? Couldn't figure out how to drive, so you ran over here to pick up girls?" Zhao Jin's eyes were full of mockery. "Why don't you take a look in the mirror? You stall the car just trying to start it, and you're trying to date like a normal person?"
Chen Zhi was in a complicated mood right now and couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this clown.
He didn't want this idiot to ruin Li Zhiyi's mood, so he grabbed her wrist. "Let's go, I'll walk you to class."
However, Zhao Jin had no intention of letting go of this opportunity to humiliate the vocational college student.
He was just about to continue his mockery when his gaze swept over Li Zhiyi behind Chen Zhi, and he suddenly froze.
He hadn't seen her clearly from a distance, but now, looking from up close, Zhao Jin felt his breath catch for a second.
The girl was wearing a simple little white dress. Although her eyes were red as if she had just been crying, that face...
Pure, stunningly beautiful, and pitifully lovely.
Compared to her, Su Nuan, whom he had just been treating like a goddess, was simply a plain Jane!
Zhao Jin's eyes instantly turned green with envy.
Jealousy twisted his features.
Why?
Why did this country bumpkin, who couldn't even get into a university and had to go to a vocational school to learn computer repair, get to have such a beautiful girlfriend?
And looking at the situation, this girl was completely devoted to him?
It made no sense!
Sour jealousy bubbled up in Zhao Jin's heart. He took a few steps forward, directly blocking their path. Staring intently at Li Zhiyi, he said in an exaggerated tone:
"Beautiful, have you been tricked? This guy is just a punk going to a tech school, he has no future!"
Li Zhiyi was startled by the man who suddenly rushed up and instinctively shrank behind Chen Zhi.
Chen Zhi stopped walking and shielded Li Zhiyi behind him.
He looked at Zhao Jin, who was jumping around like a clown in front of him. His eyes, which had softened after receiving the gift, instantly turned piercingly cold.
"Get lost."
Chen Zhi spat out the words.
He was truly angry this time. Disgusting him at the driving school was one thing, but running out here to harass Li Zhiyi was crossing the line.
Zhao Jin froze for a moment, feeling a chill run down his spine at Chen Zhi's glare.
But on second thought, he was a top student at Peking University. How could he be scared by a vocational school student? Especially in front of a beautiful woman, he absolutely could not lose face!
"Watch your mouth!" Zhao Jin puffed out his chest and forced himself to raise his voice. "I'm just kindly warning this beauty! I'm afraid she'll be deceived by a piece of bottom-feeding social trash like you! Do you know who I am? I'm from Peking Uni..."
Smack!
A crisp sound rang out.
The half-eaten popsicle in Chen Zhi's hand was slapped directly onto Zhao Jin's proud designer T-shirt.
The sticky, sugary syrup instantly stained a large patch yellow.
"You..." Zhao Jin looked at the stain on his chest, completely dumbfounded.
"Who I am isn't important." Chen Zhi pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket, took one out, and wiped his hands.
"What's important is that you're in my way."
Chen Zhi crumpled the used tissue into a ball and flicked it casually, hitting Zhao Jin squarely on the forehead.
"A good dog doesn't block the road. Move."
More to come tonight.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
